The Middle Fantasy
by B. K. Siver
Summary: Brittney has done her job and has decided to stay with Cloud and Tifa. After a year of living with them, someone who looks like he's from her world arrives. Can she help him get back home? Sequel to The Beginning Fantasy
1. Rain

Well, here's the sequel. It'll get better, don't worry. Tell me what you think! Should I continue? I'm reading The Vampire Lestat. It's a really good book so far! You should read it sometime! And in art, I have to find some dirt on the seniors and win some movie tickets! That class is GREAT! By the way, I hope that you guys know that I am only a _freshman_ in high school. Which is why it'll be better for me to improve! Well, enjoy the story!

B. K. Siver

* * *

I walked around in the supermarket shopping for a present for Cloud and Tifa. Now that it has been a little more than six months than they had been together. That was because of me! I was proud to be the one who brought them together– actually, it was more of a forceful thing. The way the others pointed at me to blame! Those traitors!

By "traitors," of course, I meant Yuffie, Vincent, Cid, Denzel, Marlene, and Barret. I've known them all for almost a year.

Speaking of year, it has been a long one since I had come to Midgar. I was so freaked out when Zack and Aeris told me they were the ones who brought me! The progress I made from a girl to young woman was huge.

My first job was at the Seventh Heaven bar, and Cloud and Tifa had welcomed me into their family with open arms. Actually, it took Cloud more than a few days to welcome me. I try not to think about how we used to be now that we were now practically joined at the hip; I called him "big brother" sometimes and he looks upon me as a smart little sister.

I noticed that the sunlight had vanished completely when I looked at the sky. Clouds were covering it, making a grey blanket on the sky. They were pretty dark, too, which meant one hell of a rainstorm would come up.

Tifa had told me that I came to her during a big rainstorm. She told me that I banged on the Seventh Heaven door, even though the sign read that it was closed. For some reason, I could never remember what happened that night when I came to her. I had always wanted to ask Aeris and Zack, but I always forgot.

I tried running when it started to look like nighttime, but it was only six in the evening in the spring time. I was going to be late for work! I rushed, trying not to break the present I bought for them, and turned to the street to where the bar was. It was a long strip, but I was only going to be a few minutes late.

That was until five men approached me. That was when the rain began to downpour. My heart jumped, "Uh, what can I do for you guys?" They all laughed loudly, which made my muscles tense. I had seen all the scenarios when a girl was walking alone in the dark, and men eyed her. I could tell that all of these men were drunk. "Um, I should be going..." I told them, and I tried to walk off. I was _really _hoping that I wouldn't be a gang rape victim.

One of them grabbed my hand, "You shouldn't be going anywhere!" He yanked me towards him and the other guys held me down.

I struggled and yelled for someone to help me, but the thunder was winning at the loud game. My heart was beating a thousand beats when he began to unzip his pants. "Help!" I screamed at the top of my voice. Nobody came and nobody heard me. I was crying out of fear now.

Then, I heard slow footsteps through the rain. When I looked, it was a boy; He looked about my age, if not that, a little older, but a teenager no less. He had a sword, but it was odder than any other one I have seen. The blade shimmered through the lightning, but the handle, I saw, was made of brass. I could tell because the handle was a brass knuckle.

While we were silent, at the next flash of lightning, I stole a look at the boy. His hair was dirty blonde, and he had pale skin that was covered in dirt. His clothes were especially other-worldly. They looked like the ones from my world.

The boy held out his sword at the men, not saying anything. His eyes showed no emotion– was he even aware of what he was doing? These men were drunk had no idea what they were doing... for the most part. I was hoping that he would spare them, or me, for that matter.

All but one of the men ran off. "This..." he looked at me, "young lady and I were having a little chat! Leave us be!"

The boy didn't listen, and ran up to him without showing any anger or fear. That was when the man ran away and left me and the boy by ourselves. He looked and put his sword down while I collected myself. "Thank you for saving me," I thanked.

He didn't respond and ran away, too.

I ran to the Seventh Heaven bar, which was busier than usual when I ran inside. "What took you, Britt?" Tifa asked me. She looked at my condition: Shaking, shivering, scared. "What happened? Are you all right?" I tried not to talk because it would only end up in whimpers, so I nodded. That was when she took me behind the bar; The house. "What happened? You can tell me anything!" she assured.

I gulped down the lump in my throat, collecting my emotions so that I could explain. "I was almost..." I tried to figure out how I would put this to her, "I was almost gang raped..."

"_WHAT?!_" she yelled.

"I'm OK, though! Some boy saved me!" I assured her, " I can go to work!"

"No," she ordered me, "Tell Cloud this! He'd want to know who these men were... and the boy who saved you."

"It's nothing, really!" I tried to convince her. It was already a big deal; I didn't need her to make it even bigger. "Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if that boy would've killed them. He had a sword!"

She didn't say anything, "If you say you're fine, then I guess you're fine. Don't look so terrified when you get to the customers, OK? I don't want the regulars to worry about their favorite waitress." I was glad that she was teasing me, it made me feel better.

It was almost closing time when Cloud came home from his delivery job. "Hey, guys," he greeted and kissed Tifa. He smiled at her when he saw the ring on her finger.

"Hey, Brother!" I smiled, "How was work?"

He sighed, "Same as it was everyday: Boring." I saw Tifa whisper something in his ear, but I couldn't hear. It only took common sense to know what she told him. "WHAT?!" he yelled as I saw his trademark "Cloud blue" eyes grow wide. At last, he calmed himself down. "Who did this?" he asked as calm as he could.

"Some drunks," I told him, "But I'm fine, now! Some boy saved me!"

"Who?" he asked.

I looked down. "He never said... in fact, he never spoke a word..." I explained to him. Inside my head, I laughed. _He is _exactly _like a big brother. _"But I'm fine now!" I assured them both.

After a few more hours of assuring them and Cloud looking around the streets, I finally plopped myself onto my bed. Tifa told me something important happened today... I couldn't remember.Then Tifa called through the door and knocked. "Bueno?" I called back.

She giggled as she entered my room. I had it personalized to my fitting, now that I was living here for good. "You know," she began to tell me, "Today is the day that you came to us."

That was what today was!

She continued, "It was raining just like this when you came... Why were you walking out in the rain?"

I raised my eyebrow in puzzlement, "I was walking out in the rain?" I asked her, "I don't remember."

Her look became surprised, "Really?! It was one of the harshest rainstorms! You don't remember the cold?!" I shook my head. "C'mon! You have to! You were walking like it was nothing!"

"Nope. Not a moment," I told her truthfully.

She sighed and told me goodnight and walked out of the room. "You're sure you're fine?" she asked again.

"I'm perfect!"

She closed the door and turned off the lights for me. As soon as I was sure that she was downstairs, I opened my drawer and got out my Cloud plushie and the picture of my friends. I took out my cell phone and turned it on so that way it could be my flashlight. "I miss you all so much..." I whispered to the picture and held it close to my chest. Everyday I wondered how my friends and family were doing.

Next, I grabbed my Cloud plushie, and started to play with it. "I wonder who that boy was. Who do you think, Cloud?" I asked playfully. After my little laugh-fest I laid down, wondering why I couldn't remember the slightest thing about that night when I came here.

* * *

_I was "awake" when I heard Zack and Aeris speaking to each other. They were talking more about this "summoning" thing that had brought me here._

"_Hey guys," Iinterrupted, "Why don't I remember what happened the night I came here?"_

_Zack started to laugh at my question, but Aeris answered it for me. I could understand why; It has been a year to this day that I had come to Midgar. Why would I ask out of the blue now? "Um, well, you see..." she tried to tell me, but Zack collected himself and cut her off._

"_You were unconscious!" he laughed._

"_But how?" I asked them, "Tifa told me I banged on the door and was walking around in the rain. And then she said as soon as she opened the door, I collapsed in her arms. Explain that!"_

_Aeris answered for me this time, "Whomever summoned you must control you until you get to where you have to be," she explained, "Until then, you're nothing more then a puppet."_

_I sighed out of relief when I got my answer. Then another question came into my head. "How come I only get one wish? You told me that for every summoner, the one who was summoned gets a wish. But there are two of you. How does that work out?"_

"_What, are you getting greedy?" Zack teased, but answered my question berfore I could reply him, "We worked together. A million people could have summoned you, but as long as they were planning on that, you'd only get one wish."_

"_And in the instant two completely different people summon the same person? As in, they weren't planning on them wanting the same person. It's only a coincidence?" I asked._

"That's_ when you get two or more wishes. However, that also means you have more to do before you earn them," he explained.

* * *

_

I woke up in the real world before I could respond to Zack's statement. It was sort of a no-win situation, this whole thing about summong people: You went to where you had to, become sad that you won't see your family and friends againget attached to the people you had to, then go home to be sad again and start over. That was a road I didn't want to walk on. At least, not right now.

Other questions passed my mind. They would never be answered by Zack and Aeris, I thought, so I never bothered. Who was that boy? He seemed like he wasn't him, and he didn't talk. Zack and Aeris said that until you got to where you had to, you were nothing more than a bag of bones. Could he be just like me? Could he have been summoned, too? And if he was, by who? What would be his purpose here?


	2. Coincidence

T- hank you guys for the reviews! I love it when I get these compliments! Oh, I'm so excited to for tomorrow! I'm gonna go see Spider-Man 3! I hear that this one's the best out of all of them. We tried to get the IMAX tickets... but... well, that didn't really work out, so the normal movie theater will have to do. Oh well, as long as I get to see the movie, right? Oh yeah, and don't be surprised if I don't update in a few days... so much stuff is going on right now! School, family especially. Hopefully, this won't put me up on writer's block... wish me luck! And I'm sorry OneSavedAll about leaving all of these cliffhangers as you study for your finals! I can't really help it! Without further ado, here's chapter two.

--B. K. Siver

* * *

The thoughts about that boy had slipped my mind completely as the week wore on. Of course, because of the gang rape thing, Cloud and Tifa want me home by five in the afternoon when I go out. That was understandable.

What wasn't, however, was the phone call Yuffie gave me. It was from the middle of the night.

"Call me when you get this message! It's urgent!" she exclaimed in her message. I followed her instructions hurriedly and called her back immediately. "Brittney! I'm so glad you called!" she cheered happily with relief in her voice. "Vinnie and I found this boy and he says he's from somewhere else and he didn't sleep here last night!" she spoke quickly.

I thought for awhile, collecting what she had just said, "What're you doing at Vincent's?"

"That's not important!" she immediately told me, "Does it sound familiar? What he says?"

Of course it did; He was me. Whoever this boy was, he was acting like I had a year ago. "Yes..." I finally said, "Let me talk to him, please. I'll try to calm him down." I hated being the one to do this, but I guess it was best that I do the job. I mean, who better than to calm him than someone who had gone through the same thing?

She whispered over the phone, "OK, he's a little woohoo from whatever's happened to him... so be careful..." She sounded a little scared, if not that, terrified.

His voice came into the phone, screaming at me, "Where am I?!" It was deep.

"Just take a deep breath..." I told him.

"_Take a deep breath?!_" he exclaimed, "How?! I've got some vampire dude and some circus freak ninja chick! I wasn't here last night!" His voice began to crack, "I was in my room when I went to bed!"

_Did I really sound like this? Was I really this crazy? _I sighed, "I went through the same thing as you; It's all right." I assured him. His breathing became faster. "For God's sake, calm down!" I finally yelled into the phone. He shut up without asking any questions. "Look, I can only tell you so many things, OK?" I explained to him, "Your family isn't here; Your friends aren't here. Right now you are showing your caretakers a great deal of disrespect!'

"But I..." he tried to say, but I cut him off.

"Look," I began, "I'll do what I can to help you get back home. I can't make any guarantees, though." Technically, I wasn't lying. "But we have to meet each other sometime, and I could tell you then."

I heard him finally take a deep breath on the other line, "What am I doing here?"

How was I going to answer him? He was obviously summoned by someone else other than Zack or Aeris. "I don't know," I finally told him, "All I know is that you have to find that out yourself." He hung up on me after I explained that to him. I want to tell him everything to make it easier for him. However, I felt that I was going to break the rules if I were to do that. I knew that there was so much I could tell him, and as soon as he knows what to do, he could only tell _me _so much.

I walked downstairs for breakfast when I saw Denzel and Marlene at the table with Tifa. She saw that I looked worried and preoccupied. "What's the matter?" Tifa asked me. I explained to her what was going on upstairs. "Oh yeah," she said, "Yuffie called me last night about that. She told me that she had found him wandering around in the heat."

Marlene gave out a big sigh, "Your guys' stories sound the same!"

"Do you think you're connected?" Denzel asked me.

_I don't doubt it, _I replied in my head, _He was summoned by someone of the dead. Someone who would care about Yuffie or Vincent..._ "Where's Cloud?" I asked, "Isn't it his day off?"

Marlene laughed, "You know how he sleeps in!"

It was ten o' clock! That lazy bum! I tiptoed across the house and into his and Tifa's room. She warned me not to go in there, but I didn't listen, of course. I snickered when I saw his sleeping face. He looked like a young child having a sweet dream– I almost felt bad that I was going to wake him up. "Cloud!" I yelled in his ear, "Cloud!" He didn't move– either he was really sleepy or he was ignoring me. That was when I began to jump up and down on the bed. I knew that it was childish, but that was the point. "Cloud, Cloud, Cloud, Cloud, Cloud, Cloud, Cloud!" I shouted again.

When he didn't make any action stating that he heard me, I walked out, sighing out of annoyance. _Boy is Cloud worse than Daddy! _I remembered how bad my daddy was at getting up in the morning.

* * *

"_Daddy?" I whispered, "Daddy, it's noon!"_ I was only a child.

_He jumped, "Don't worry, Booger, I'll be up..."_

Two hours later...

"_Daddy? It's two!"_

"_Five more minutes..."

* * *

_

Cloud finally walked out of his room a few minutes later. "Look at Sleeping Beauty... minus the beauty," I teased. He glared at me, his eyes had bags under them. Now I really felt bad. "I... I'm sorry, Cloud."

He sighed, "Oh, no, I mean, it's only an accident that you scream my name and jump on the bed. How old are you?"

I laughed. I knew that he was teasing me, too. "I need to go to the church today. Can you do that for me?"

I could see his features: His muscles, his perfect body, everything was perfect. But now that I had been living there for a whole year now, that sight was a ritual. However, someone inside my head blushed at the sight of his abs... but I tried not to let my fangirl half take me over right now.

"How about I just teach you how to drive my bike? It'll be easier for the both of us..." he offered.

I shook my head, "No! Absolutely not! I'm scared of those things!"

"Why?"

"They are mobile death traps!" I explained to him as my voice cracked with fear.

He sighed again, "I'll do it."

I smiled, "Yay!" I kissed him on the check as gratitude. "Thanks, Brother!"

We both got on the motorcycle and drove off to the church. When we arrived, only I got off his bike. "I'll call you when you need to pick me up." I told him.

He looked perplexed. "Why do you need to go to the church anyway?"

"Uh..." I tried to say, "Business." Technically, that wasn't called "lying" in my book.

"Business?" I asked skeptically.

"Yep!"

He didn't say another word after that and drove off. I walked inside and found that even after that winter, the flowers had managed to survive. The ice sculptors they once were had now become paintings. It was the beauty of spring that brought life. The green grass; The beautiful flowers. All of this had been put to sleep by winter's touch.

"Aeris? Zack?" I asked to nothing, "Knock me out or whatever, but I need to talk to you!" I waited for something to happen, but nothing did. I waited some more, but still, nothing happened. After what had felt like a half hour, I began to pick some flowers.

I heard Aeris's laughter in my head. _"I worked so hard planting those!" _she scolded. I paid no attention to what she said and continued picking the flowers like it were nothing. _"What's wrong?" _she asked now with concern.

I put down the flowers in a neat pile on one of the church benches. "There's a boy that has the same case that I had," I explained, "What's going on?"

Zack sighed, _Sorry, but, we can't necessarily tell you that..."_

"You mean you _didn't _summon him?!" I exclaimed with surprise.

Aeris began to explain everything to me. _"A person or persons can only summon someone one person per afterlife."_

"Meaning...?"

"_In other words," _Zack told me, _"We have to be reincarnated before we could ask someone to make our wish come true."_

I began to think about this. They had both worked together to assure that I would end up with Cloud and Tifa. As they had just told me, they couldn't ask another person, at least not in their current afterlife, to do their bidding. They had used that up on me. So who could've summoned this boy? Surely it had to be someone who cared about Yuffie and/or Vincent, right? It would only make sense because Aeris and Zack wanted me with Cloud. From the looks of it, the summoners wanted to make sure that their "puppet" was with the one that they had to change. Or at least at the location of their mission, right? "So this boy must've been summoned by someone who cares for Yuffie or Vincent, right?" I asked them.

"_It seems that way," _Aeris told me.

"What would be his purpose here?"

"_He, like you did, might have to figure that out himself," _Zack explained.

"Guess I have to help him as much as I can, then, huh?" I replied. They both shrugged, which I knew that had meant that I couldn't help him. Period. Now I'm going to have some nut rave and rave about stuff from his world, wherever he might be from.

I walked out of the church, away from the conversation. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and dialed Cloud's number. "Did you get your 'business' done?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I told him, "Could you pick me up, please?"


	3. Party: Again

Spider-Man was the COOLEST MOVIE!!! I was so happy I got to go see it! It was worth my dad's money! Anyways, guess what preview I saw? The Naruto Movie! It said that it was going to come out on June 6, 2007, for one night only and in selected theaters. I hope it's by where I live! Viz outdid themselves: Advertising a preview on Spider-Man? That's gonna cost major $$$, if you ask me. Well, if it did come by me, I would totally go see it! Venom looks freaking awesome! And Tobey Maguire(Did I spell his name right?) makes a _really _cute emo... I can't believe I just said that... oh well, enjoy chapter three!

--B. K. Siver

* * *

Yuffie and Tifa made arrangements within the following days. They wanted him to feel welcome, so they were throwing him a party like they had for me.

The poor guy; I didn't even know his name! He must have felt awkward during all of this. I know I had!

Finally the day came for when I would actually meet him. It's been a long time since we've seen each other. I mean, all of us. Now and then I would call Reno or Cid and I would always call Yuffie, but it wasn't the same as actually seeing them. I was really excited about seeing them all again! It had been so long.

I saw Yuffie and Vincent come up along with that boy. He looked familiar; His blonde hair was covering his eyes and he had a weapon with him. It was very odd in looks. It was a sword, but it also looked like a big knife. What really caught my eye was the fact that the handle was a brass knuckle. Wait... a brass knuckle? Come to think of it, that boy who saved me had the same weapon. The only difference between that boy and the one who saved me was the fact that this one's eyes had feelings.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed to Tifa and Cloud, "That's the boy who saved me!" Tifa and Cloud looked at me, then back at the window. I couldn't say much else because that's when the doorbell rang. I tried to sigh the issue off and answered the door. "Hey, Yuffie! Hey, Vincent!" I exclaimed happily. I welcomed them all inside when the whole pack swarmed in. Reno, Barret, and Cid came inside, not even giving them the chance to say hi when Barret practically strangled me into a hug.

He chuckled, "It's been so damn long!" I could feel my back cracking fro his hug, which was the point. "How's that feel?" he asked.

"Better," I sighed with relief. Then I looked at the boy. "Sorry!" I apologized, "My name's Brittney. The one you were on the phone with?"

He remembered, "Oh yeah... my name's Daniel, but call me Danie, OK?"

I nodded, "All right, Danie. You can call me Britt, if you want to."

Everybody acted as though history was repeating itself. Reno told me the same things about my chest, which I was used to by now. Cid and I talked about math, and Vincent gave me a new book to read. When Yuffie and I talked, however, our conversation was different. We talked about Danie.

"It was strange," she said, "That he popped out of nowhere, like you did."

"Small world, huh?" I replied.

Yuffie was looking at everyone. They were all asking Danie all of these questions about where he came from, and from the looks of it he seemed annoyed by explaining it over and over and over again. "He kept telling me about where he's from. He told me that it rained like every day."

I made a face, "Eeeew... humidity!"

She laughed, "But he's a big help around the house! Vinnie and I don't mind having him."

I was curious about that; Why was she exactly living with him, anyways? "If you don't mind me asking, why are you staying with Vincent?"

"He 'accidently,'" she began as she put air quotes, "destroyed the shed I was hiding in."

"Shed?!"

"I was trying to escape my father... anyways, he offered me a roof. What else was I to do?"

I sighed and got up to talk to Danie. He seemed like a nice guy, and he was sort of...cute.

_No! I can't think about something like that now!_

It was just me and him outside, and without none of us talking, the feeling was becoming awkward. "Uh, so..." I tried to start up a conversation, "Um, where're you from?"

"Washington, the wettest place in the country!" he stated as a matter of fact. "What about you?"

I laughed. We were complete opposites. He was from the wet, I was from the dry. "Desert."

His look became sarcastic, "I mean, just where exactly."

"I'd rather not say," I said to him, "You guys tend to complain about the heat in 'Hell.'"

He laughed a little bit, figuring out where I was from. "You said that you went through the same thing on the phone?"

"Yep," I replied, "the same damn thing. Except, I wasn't as crazy as you were." I was hoping he knew that I was just teasing him and not flirting... at least, I figured it wasn't flirting.

He laughed again. I was thankful that he knew I was just kidding around. "I guess it's pretty cool their mansion," he said, "But I'm not so sure about the vampire over there..."

"You mean Vincent?" I asked with sarcasm in my tone.

"Yeah, him!" he exclaimed, "He just gives me the creeps..."

Just then, we heard Yuffie call for him, saying that it was time to go home. "Yuffie," he told me, "She is something else. I'm not sure if she's normal."

I laughed as we both went inside and said our goodbyes to everybody. _This Danie guy is pretty cool, when he's not crazy, _I thought as I smiled. I turned around and saw that Cloud was staring at me. "What?" I asked. He shook his head and smiled. I knew what that meant! "Cloud," I said, "I don't like him or anything!"

He laughed, "Sure. I know that look. You're in love."

I shook my head this time, "Am not! You're just assuming! You know what that does?"

He walked away from me and into his and Tifa's bedroom, "It makes an ass out of you and me."

"You bet it does, Cloud!"

He laughed again, "You are in love. You just don't know it yet."

"'Cause I'm not, that's why!" I assured him.

All of a sudden, Tifa came into the picture out of nowhere. "I was in denial for a bit when I was realizing I loved Cloud!" she explained.

I didn't wait to be picked on some more, so I just went upstairs to my room and went to bed. I got out Cloud from my drawer and the picture of my friends. In the drawer, I found the list of things to never, ever forget. I smiled when I looked at it, especially when I got to the part about Gackt and Hyde(Good thing I didn't forget their good looks!) and to the part where I said that my friends and family were the best thing that ever happened to me.

Before I put them all away, I took one last glance at the picture. "You guy would never believe the experiences I've had..." I said, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Yuffie

I have soooo many projects to do this week... first this really dumb Spanish one, then this OK English one. I have to write 10 poems, and one of them has to be my favorite character from a book, show, or movie. I'm debating whether or not I should do Edward Cullen(drools) of Twilight or Cloud Strife of Final Fantasy... but you guys all know who he is! And for girls who don't know what Twilight is, you'd better go read it! Guys, too(Though I'm not sure if there are any guys reading this...)! OK, OK, I'd better stop this jabbering. On with the story!

--B. K. Siver

P. S. I know that this is TOTALLY random, but this is one of my favorite movie quotes: "Raise your hand if your brother's a homo!" Kudos to who can guess where that's from!

* * *

Danie and I have become quite the pair– meaning we've both become really good friends as the weeks wore on. Every week he and I would try to visit each other, which gave Cloud another reason why I should learn how to drive his bike(But I was still reluctant, of course!). I would either go to the Shinra mansion to see him, or he would come to the Seventh Heaven bar to see me. He even buys drinks from me to make sure that I getter a bigger paycheck! Danie would also stay until after closing so that he and I could talk to each other. He was like a best friend to me.

He would always tell me about all the things that were going on at the mansion. Whether they were good or bad, I was excited to hear them.

Recently, though, I have noticed that his mind has been spacing in and out. Finally, curiosity got the best of me. "What's wrong, Danie?" I asked him. His reply was a puzzled look on his face. "You look like something's on your mind, and it's making me worry..."

He smiled at me, putting his hands on my shoulders, "I'm fine! You don't have to worry about me."

I already knew what he was thinking though. "You're wondering how to get home," I told him. I saw his reaction; He knew I wasn't asking him. "It's only natural..." I said sadly as I looked away, "I did the same thing."

I felt his hand grab my chin and he made me look at him. "It's not that," he assured me, "I'm just wondering... are Yuffie and the vampire together?"

I shook my head, "No, at least, not that I'm sure of... why?"

"Uh, no reason..." he told me. I could tell that he was lying to me, though. I figured he felt weird talking about _that_. Everyone else figured that if Yuffie and Vincent were to become a couple... I would think it'd be the end of the world!

Not that I never read fanfictions about this, though. I always thought that the pairing was cute. That was _before _I had met them, though. I remembered all of this as Danie and I walked to his motorcycle. Yep, he learned how to drive one. Cloud gave him lessons in a heartbeat.

Before he put the key in the shift, he looked at me again. "Brittney..." he began. It seemed like he couldn't exactly figure out how to say what he wanted to. "Er, I mean, how do you know someone's in love?"

My expression became surprised. _Why is he asking _meWhat would I say to him? "Um, I dunno," I answered, "I guess when someone looks at someone differently and sighs, I guess." That was the only way I could explain it. "Yeah!" I confirmed, "That's how Tifa always looked at Cloud!"

He sighed, "Oh. I was just... curious, that's all."

"If it's anything to talk about, just tell now or call me."

"Well, you see... I've noticed that Yuffie looks at Vincent different than she does me."

_This is serious! He called him Vincent! _"Anything else?" I asked.

"And she... sighs, too. I see her eyes; They look, I dunno, sad."

I nodded, "I guess that means she loves Vincent." Wait! Yuffie in _love _with Vincent?! _I guess that would explain why she didn't tell me anything at first..._ "All I can say is," I tried to say as calmly as I could, "good luck!" I smiled and put my hand on his shoulder. It was against "rules" to tell him what to do, and he had to figure this out for himself.

He didn't say anything about my response, and drove away. I waved back as he left, not doubting that he had no idea what I meant by "good luck." Too bad he isn't sure who exactly he has to help. I wasn't even sure!

The clock said midnight. "Wow," I yawned, "It's later than I thought." I stretched out my arms and when I finally opened my eyes, there was Cloud right in front of me. I gasped, "Jeez, you scared the crap out of me, Cloud!" He laughed and smiled at my reaction, then just walked into his room. "We're only friends, Cloud!" I yelled to him.

"That's what Tifa and I said..." he sneered, "And quiet, Tifa and the kids are sleeping."

I cleaned up the bar and went upstairs as quietly as I could and into my room so as to not awaken Denzel and Marlene. I couldn't believe that Yuffie could possibly be in love with Vincent Valentine. Could the pairings of my world possibly find a way to this one?

* * *

"_It seems... impossible, Zack and Aeris." I said to them, "To think that Yuffie loves Vincent? Unheard of... here, anyway."_

_Zack laughed, "I know that nobody will believe you and Danie, though."_

"_I know that, and Yuffie is trying to hide it, from the looks of it. But that's how it's always done, isn't it?"_

_Aeris looked at me, "That's how you're getting through."_

"_We're friends, nothing more!"_

"_Back to the subject," Zack interrupted, "Daniel may not have to help Yuffie." My face became bewildered. "He just might have to get through to Vincent," he explained._

"_Who died that cares for Vincent, though?" I asked._

_Aeris asked back to me, "Who died that cares about Yuffie so much?"_

_All of these questions poured my mind: Who? Why? They didn't make sense if I didn't know why he was here. Who could it have been? As far as I know, nobody died that cares about Yuffie. And Vincent..._Vincent. _At that instant, I knew who they were talking about._

_So many years before, Vincent cared about a woman, once upon a time. He was deeply in love. Her beauty was fair and she was very intelligent. She was cruel and broke his heart, that woman. Not to mention that she was the mother of Sephiroth._

_Lucrecia. That was the name of the woman I was told of._

"She _wants Danie here?" I exclaimed out of fury, "Why?!"Zack and Aeris looked at each other. I was so tired of the game of figuring out and answering my own questions. "Tell me, goddamnit!" I was furious. The last thing I needed was a friend being connected to her, the person who hurt one of my friends, badly. _

"_You see..." Zack struggled to say, "Danie is nothing more than a... reward for you."_

"_REWARD?!"_

"_Lucrecia saw how affective you were, and saw someone perfect for you and for what she wanted." Aeris explained to me._

_I was pissed off beyond reasoning. "I'm sorry I never signed up for this dating service!" I looked down at the endless, white ground that I was floating on. "What does she want," I demanded with disgust, "For Danie to tell him that love doesn't exist?!"_

_She shook her head, "It's quite the opposite."_

"_She wants him to know that love can exist again," Zack finished.

* * *

_

I got tired of hearing more, so I woke upfrom my argument.That vile woman was the one who summoned him. As I thought about it, though, it started to make sense. That would explain why he was living with Yuffie. And, as far as I know, it sounded like Danie knew what his job was already. And if he didn't well... that would mean he had a lot of time on his hands.

However, like I did a while back, I didn't like Cloud as much as I do now. Danie doesn't exactly hate Vincent, but he doesn't trust him. Vincent told me the same thing, but Danie was in his place. Was history repeating itself, but with Daniel in my spot? Was this how all people who were summoned lived?

But, I thought, it would make sense that the summoned should get along with whom they must look after. It only makes sense. However, Cloud and I first lived with resentment towards one another, despite our efforts to get along. All Danie has told me was that he connects more with Yuffie than he does Vincent.

_What would happen if Yuffie found out about Danie's whereabouts... I'm sure she hates or strongly dislikes Lucrecia. And what about Vincent? _The thought of Vincent finding out who sent Danie frightened me.

It dawned on me that the two people we were sent to take care of were the "lone wolf" type. That, and this whole "mission" thing concerned romance.

I sighed, and laughed sarcastically to myself as I got ready for the day. I shook my head at all the nonsense that came into my mind. _Who's the genius that decided _teenagers_ were perfect for this job? _


	5. News

Ha! I had to watch "Happy Feet" in school today..._again_. That movie is starting to suck big ones... kinda like that song "Facedown." Don't get me wrong, it's a good song, but _everybody _is singing it at school like it's going out of style. By the way, this chapter is sort of... I dunno... more mature than usual. By that I mean swearing and dialogue. So prepare for talk about "the baby-making process"(lol!) and the after-effects. Thanks to this, I'll never think of petroleum jelly the same way again... oops! I'm spoiling it for you! Just hurry up and read before I spill something!

--B. K. Siver

P. S. Steve Nash is back in play, so I know that the Suns will win this time!

* * *

As the months wore on from three to four then five months after Danie had arrived, people's behaviors had started changing. Sure, there was the really awesome wedding Cloud and Tifa had. But when I saw everybody last month, they were all changed. It was obvious: They were getting older. I don't mean that as in winkles, but emotionally. The sins that they wanted to pay for had at last been done. 

But ever since I found out about Yuffie, I could never look at her with a straight face. Every now and then Danie would tell me how much he wanted to bop Vincent in the face on certain nights.

"Why?" I would ask in surprise. _Is this how Tifa felt about me when I acted like this? _"Vincent's a nice guy!"

"I real nice asshole!" he smirked with an impish grin.

I shook my head, "What does he do?"

"Yuffie practically throws herself to him, and he doesn't do jack about it!"

I sighed, "Something like this takes time. Did I ever tell you about the time that I planned Cloud's and Tifa's first date?"

"A million times before."

"Well, look at them now!" I cheered, "It took me seven months, but I did it! And on my first try."

He groaned out of annoyance. "If someone like Yuffie were to throw herself at me," he said, "I'd do her."

I shook my head, rubbing off what he had just said as though it were nothing. I was used to talk like this. After all, my whole family practically consisted of boys and men! Not to mention that all my cousin would talk about was SEX, SEX, and SEX. And also, my good friend Sophia would always say the most perverted things.

* * *

"_In art, we have to do plasters, and it sounds fun!" I exclaimed._

_Sophia looked at me, "What do you have to do?"_

"_Well," I began, "We have to put petroleum jelly on our faces and–"_

_Sophia laughed and interrupted me, "Do you know what that'll_ _look like?!"_

_I looked at her skeptically. "What?" I asked her._

_She laughed harder than before. "It'll look like someone came all over your face!"

* * *

_

This whole talk was pretty much nothing.

He looked at me, his eyes locked onto mine. "If Cloud were to throw himself at you, you'd screw him, right?" He was being completely and totally serious.

I laughed. _That's practically incest! _"Nah! I would never! Had it been a year or so ago, I would definitely let him have every advantage of me," I explained, "But now that I respect him and look up to him, that would be incest to me." I stuck out my tongue in disgust at the thought. "Ah! Perverted thoughts! Perverted thoughts!" I repeated as I tried to shake off the images. I nearly gagged myself.

I looked at the time on my "Cloud black" phone. It read 2:50 PM. "I should go to work!" I told Danie, "And you should be getting home. My paycheck's not gonna pay for itself, you know!"

He bought a drink before he left and we waved our goodbyes. Not a minute after he left, I could hear somebody grunting. They were trying to lift something up, it sounded like. The sound became louder as I followed it, and it led to Tifa. She was trying to lift up this really big box, and from the looks of it, she was losing. Badly. "Let me help!" I more or less demanded rather than asked.

"Oh, thanks!" she gasped out of exhaustion, "I didn't know that you and Danie were done!" After we set the box down, she held her stomach rather than her heart, like most other people would do when they're exhausted. Even thought it looked odd, I decided not to be concerned. "We should get ready, huh?"

I nodded and changed into my work clothes. Of course, it was only a black apron and a name tag. After that, I ran downstairs and grabbed the little pocket-sized notebook and prepared the glasses. Tifa was setting down the chairs, and she was still exhausted from the box. She and I took a quick rest beforehand, and Tifa can't be aging so quickly. "Tifa," I asked, "Why are you so tired? Do you want me to take your shift?"

"Oh, no," she sighed happily with exhaustion in her voice, "You don't have to do that!"

"OK... then why are you so tired?" I asked. She looked like she was going to answer, but then the first customer came in. After awhile, others came in and soon came in the regulars. Tifa and I never mentioned the question and I completely forgot about it.

I did notice, though, that Tifa was being extra careful with her stomach area. She held the trays a lot higher than necessary and she asked me to help her more often. Finally, when there was a little break in customers, I remembered the question I had asked four hours earlier. "You never answered my question, Tifa," I said to her, "You look so tired."

"Well..." she started, but it looked like she didn't want to finish her statement.

"And then you're not doing as much as you usually do. Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, and she was going to answer, it looked like, _again. _But, like before, another stampede of customers came in. I saw that one of them was Cloud. "Hey, Brother!" I exclaimed happily as I waved. He smiled and waved back to me. "Tifa's coming with your drink!" I cheered to him.

Tifa went to give Cloud his drink, and the two were talking about something very serious, it looked like. Their faces weren't so cheerful as they would always be whenever Cloud came back from work. It was bugging me so much, even my regulars noticed my mood change. Then I would even mess up their orders! _What could they be talking about?_ I asked myself. Both were holding hands, with comfort, and now they were smiling. I saw that even Cloud was laughing! Finally, it was closing time. I was so glad that my shift was over and that I could _finally _get some answers.

The three of us were in the kitchen, eating a very late dinner. It had been a long time since I was starving for food like I used to eat dinner at three in the afternoon. "Jeez, Britt, you sure are hungry," Cloud told me sarcastically.

I didn't answer and ate like a king. When I was done, I walked up to the two of them. "OK," I told them, "I've been asking questions and I need answers!" They both shrugged. "Tifa, why are you so tired recently? You look like you've been working double than usual!" Then I looked at Cloud. "And _you_," I pointed to him, "At one glance your having a serious conversation, and at the next, you're both giggling! What's going on?!" I raised my voice as calm as I could, but I knew that my stress was still there. They both looked at each other and laughed lightly. "What?" I asked, "Did I miss something?"

Cloud looked at me with his "Cloud blue" eyes. He laughed to himself, as if to say that I was stupid or something. "You honestly don't know?" he asked with a smirk.

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking." I replied.

Tifa joined in. "You see, Britt," she was telling me, "I'm kinda... sort of..." she seemed like she wasn't ready to finish her statement again.

"Just tell me, I swear I won't say anything!" I begged. She sighed again with a look that said that I should've known. Then I felt my eyes practically fall out of my sockets. My gasp was louder than necessary, and I instinctively threw my hands in the air out of surprise. I grabbed my face and smiled and I even screamed out of joy. After I managed to collect myself, I glared at Cloud. My smile got bigger and gradually turned into a big smirk to him. "You're gonna be a daddy, Cloud!" I exclaimed and hugged him. Actually, to be honest, it was more of a tackle-glomp combination.

I looked at Tifa, who was smiling at me. I knew that I couldn't do to her what I just did to Cloud, so I just slammed my hand on her shoulder with excitement. "And you're gonna be a mama!" I squealed with joy. I kept clapping my hands together and jumping up and down.

"She's more excited that we are..." I heard Cloud's voice whisper to Tifa.

"Oh, no!" I shouted, "I'm just so happy for both of you!"

I was shocked that as soon as I laid my head on the pillow, my eyelids shut.

* * *

"_REALLY?!" Zack's voice squealed._

_I laughed when I heard Zack's voice squeak as though he were going through puberty. _"_I shit you not, Zack. Tifa is pregnant... with Cloud being the daddy." I managed to say to him calmly._

_Aeris's face, I saw, was very happy. "You've done more than what was needed, yet you still refuse to go home?"_

"_Well, now with a baby along the way, I can't just leave them!" I explained to her. "Tifa is a mom-to-be! The way the mother acts during pregnancy determines the baby's behavior. Didn't you know that?_

_And if I leave," I continued, "I know that Tifa would be very sad, and so would Cloud. I could never leave them like that. It would be completely and utterly wrong!"_

_They didn't say anything to my words. I could see that, in their smiles, they were glad that I was able to get I what I had to done. But then my mind finally came back to "reality." Does Danie know about Lucrecia?

* * *

_

I woke up, remembering the news I had heard the previous night. I couldn't imagine how the others would react about this. Then another thing came into my mind: Mood swings. I shuttered in my bed. "Eeerrr..." I managed to say, "I'm so _not _looking forward to that! Or Cloud's male PMSing!"

In spite of all the downfalls, I knew that the reward would be great for all of us.

* * *

One More Thing:

"Raise your hands if your brother's a homo!" I love that movie sooo much!


	6. Labor

I'm glad to hear that people are liking this sequel! I was beginning to think it too bland and not as good, but that's what sequels are for, right? As long as you guys demand it, I'm willing! Eeew... and my tum-tum hurts like a mother right now... And those stupid projects! I wrote a Twilight poem about Edward for English. You know, the one about a character? I decided Edward was best, just because I know him a lot more... and he's not so much of a "lone wolf." I have it posted, so if you've read Twilight or New Moon, give it a shot! Am I a good poet, too?

--B. K. Siver

* * *

Months passed when the others were told. More months passed when Tifa's very pregnant belly was showing. It would be a week until the baby was to be born. I was really nervous, especially at night, afraid that Cloud would wake me up to tell me that she was in labor. Danie would joke around about it, when she wasn't around to hear, and say to me, "She's gonna pop! She's gonna pop!" Even though it was somewhat crude, I laughed whenever he told me that.

To be honest, her mood swings weren't all that bad. Sure, every now and then she'd blurt out something towards me or Cloud, but she hardly ever did it. When she'd have morning sickness, though, I'd feel so bad. Hearing her makes me not wanna have kids! Plus, Cloud's dude PMSing was over the top.

Recently, it's gotten so bad for the both of them that they can't hardly work! Danie does Cloud's deliveries(free of charge, that loser!) and I do Tifa's shift. It's been like that for the past week or so. It bothered me a lot that Danie wasn't able to visit me as often as he used to, even though he always did manage to buy a drink from me. My regulars, who were so used to my cheerful attitude, were now noticing my stress kicking in.

"Just... stuff!" I'd assure them, "Not much is going on!" They were so dedicated to me, they even stopped coming for a few days so that the bar wouldn't be as busy for me! It wasn't much, but it still helped some.

When Danie and I finally managed to get a break, we were able to talk. I was so tired, though; Our conversations would last from midnight to _at least_ three in the morning!

He still managed to smirk the quote he's been saying for a while now. "She's gonna pop! She's gonna pop!" he whispered mischievously.

"Stop that, she'll hear you!" I whispered, giggling. It had been so long since I had laughed with him. "So, how's the Yuffientine thing?"

"Yuffientine?" he asked.

I laughed, "It's something I learned back home. Just tell me how's it going with the whole Yuffie liking Vincent thing. Do you know for sure?"

"Nope. I haven't really... asked her yet."

"Not asked her?!" I tried to keep my voice down. "You have to ask!"

"I'm a dude, how the hell am I supposed to know?"

"You're smart, aren't you? You'll figure it out!" I was repeating what Aeris had told me two years ago. "Oh yeah!" I remembered, "It's the one year anniversary since you came here!" I couldn't believe that I'd forgotten my best friend's "birthday." Then again, I was known to ask Allana on a number of occasions when hers was. "We've been so busy this week, I forgot about this present!"

He stared at the present that I had wrapped in metallic green paper. For kicks, I took off the blue bow and put it on his head, and giggled like it was Christmas again. "You didn't have to," he said.

"I wanted to, though!"

"I didn't get you anything..." he apologized.

I _psshed, _"It's all right! It's not like it's my birthday!"

Danie's face was priceless when he opened the present: A brand new leather sheath for his sword. He was speechless.

"I even had it etched with your name!" I told him.

What he did next surprised me and left me breathless. He pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back. _He gives out great hugs!_ "Thank you, Brittney." he told me.

Suddenly, Cloud opened the door with a jolt. He stared at us, baffled by the sight. "I knew it!" he exclaimed, and we immediately pulled away from each other. I could feel my face turn red from embarrassment; Something I hadn't done in years! "Doesn't matter," he rushed, "Tifa's in labor!"

"She's _what_?!" Danie and I exclaimed.

"La-bor," he said with two syllables, "I need you to call everybody as we get her to the hospital." He looked at Danie. "You might want to take her with you," he pointed to Danie, "I'd rather you _not_ see Tifa like this."

"I'd rather not, either!" I gasped surprisingly.

We both made urgent phone calls in the middle of the night, which practically made telling them twice as hard. Especially since they were half-asleep and we needed to repeat and repeat. Finally, though, after a few "What's" and "Huh's," everybody managed to suck up the information and come as soon as possible.

That took them all, like, two seconds.

Danie and I agreed that this was a good time to set up this Vincent and Yuffie scenario: We would both sit next to each other and Cid and Shera would sit next to each other while Barret could sit with us, leaving Vincent and Yuffie together.

In the waiting room, my hand was shaking uncontrollably. One of the nurses asked if I had carpel tunnel! "Jeez, Britt," Danie finally said, "If you're that nervous, take my hand!" I couldn't control the shaking, though, even while holding his hands. When my hand stopped shaking, I panicked because I had no nervous reliever, so I began chewing on my lips to the point where they were bleeding! "Quit that!" he ordered, "Here's some gum: Chew it." I took the stick and opened the wrapper quickly. _What relief!_ I had managed to calm down after that.

Both Danie and I, however, have noticed that Yuffie had an _extreme _problem right now; She was biting her nails to the core.

"Don't be so scared," Vincent told her.

Her eyes grew wide and her voice began to crack, "Ha! Scared?! You don't want me to be scared?! That's my friend in there giving birth for God's sake, and you don't want me to be _scared_?!"

"Yes."

She didn't say anything to that, which was pretty funny because Yuffie _always _had something to say. Rather than talk, she began to chew on her nails again.

"You should stop," Vincent suggested calmly.

"No!" Yuffie retorted immediately. How childish!

"But you'll bleed," he told her.

"I don't care!" she mumbled as she kept biting.

"Why don't you put your hands in your thighs?"

"I don't wanna."

Typical, childish Yuffie. When her crush cares about her, she pushes him away! Dumb, stupid... anyways, Yuffie continued to bite her nails fervently. By now, I was sure that there were no more nails left on her fingers.

What surprised me, and Danie mostly, was that Vincent grabbed her arm and held it firmly. "Daniel," he said to him, "Give her a piece of that gum."

He didn't rush to follow Vincent's orders, which surprised me a lot. Maybe it was because he knew what his job was, at least, that was what I figured. Anyways, he threw the stick to Vincent, who then put it in Yuffie's hand. "Take it," he ordered. She _actually _listened and opened up the piece. However, she didn't hesitate to put it in her mouth.

Too bad Cloud came out to say that Tifa was OK and fine by then... ten or so hours after getting to the hospital. And he also added that it was a girl.

We all walked into the room and saw Tifa and the baby. To me, I'd never seen Tifa look so pretty before. The baby was crying less and less as she began to fall asleep. The baby had peach fuzz for hair, but it was dirty blonde, I could see. I could feel the tears crawling out of my eyes.

"What's wrong, Britt?" Tifa managed to ask me.

I smiled, "I'm sorry. She just... reminds me of my sister. That's all. That, and I'm just so happy for you two."

Yuffie began to speak. "What are you going to name her?" she asked excitedly.

Cloud and Tifa looked at each other, wondering. Then they both smiled at us. "Aeris," they both said in cheerful unison.

I smiled again. _Won't Zack and Aeris be happy to hear this?_

_

* * *

_

I watched the "Addam's Family" in art today. I never thought that movie would be so funny! It was a lot more entertaining than "Girl with a Pearl Earring."


End file.
